


Sweet Pea

by lavacherries



Series: Lost Stars [1]
Category: Final Fantasy VII
Genre: aerith centric, i mainly draw but, if i ever write more for ffvii, it'll be here, this is my first write ever
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-26
Updated: 2018-10-26
Packaged: 2019-08-07 17:27:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,312
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16412771
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lavacherries/pseuds/lavacherries
Summary: "I'll come back when it's all over."She has places to go, things to do, and people to be with. But before she can get to any of that, there's something only she can do.





	Sweet Pea

**Author's Note:**

> _Sweet Pea - Departure, Remember Me, Good-Bye, Tender Memory_

_"I'll come back when it's all over."_

That's what Aerith had said, but as she made her way through the Sleeping Forest, she couldn't keep the feeling of dread from her mind. This was Sephiroth she was dealing with. Not some power-hungry president with a shotgun, not a few rowdy cactuars, but Sephiroth. A mako boosted, battle hardened, psychotic, murderous, nightmare of a man. Despite this, Aerith pressed onward. She had a duty to fulfill, to protect the planet. She would use Holy to fight off Meteor, and then go back to her friends and apologize for running off.

She was the last of the Cetra. She had to do it.

Shaking her head, Aerith finally stepped out of the forest, now making her way through the huge canyon that would lead to the Forgotten City. A few monsters attacked her, trying to keep her from passing, but she dealt with them quickly, trying to keep a steady pace. She had no doubt that Cloud and the others were looking for her, and she didn't want to drag them into the whole mess. 

It wasn't long before she could see the city in the distance. As the seashell houses and long winding paths came into view, Aerith couldn't help but smile. After years of knowing next to nothing about her ancestors, she finally found their home. The Temple of the Ancients had been amazing, yes, but it had also been shrunken down and given to Sephiroth. A city this big wouldn't turn out to be one giant materia. Probably.

Aerith would've loved to go sightseeing, to run down each path and look inside each building, see what they were like inside, but she had a job to do. So she made her way down the middle path, following it until she reached a secluded house with a large lake in front of it. As she passed the lake, Aerith glanced down at the water and felt a chill go up her spine. She turned away and headed inside, walking through the hall until she heard a clicking noise. She looked over at the railing around a hole in the floor to see that it had opened up, and a glimmering staircase had suddenly appeared among the seaweed. Aerith put one foot on the first stair, putting her weight on it to test the step. Whether it was glass, or crystal, or some magic Cetra light, it didn't tremble or start to crack, so with a deep breath, Aerith headed down the staircase.

The stairs led to a sparkling cavern with large crystalline structures, and several pillars that rose from the water to lead to an altar. Aerith quickly made her way over to the pillars, staring up at it all.

"This must be it." She nodded, and hopped from pillar to pillar, reaching the altar quickly and getting on her knees in the center. She shut her eyes, hands clasped together, and activated the White Materia.

At least, that's what she thought would happen.

Aerith sat on that floor for ten minutes, with nothing happening. Fingers still intertwined, she opened one eye, looking around, then opened the other. Nothing on the altar had changed. 

"Uhm, hello? Planet? I'm kind of trying to activate my materia here." She spoke aloud, her voice echoing.

Not a peep. Apparently her ancestors preferred to chat her up at the Temple.

"Could I at least get a pointer? What do I need to do to use this thing? Yell a magic word? Draw magic circles on the floor?"

Again, nothing happened.

"I'd appreciate some help here, Gaia! I can't save you if you suddenly shut up! Where was this silence when I was a kid?! Is that how it works? Twenty-two years of nothing but noise, and then the second I try to do my duty, you shut up out of nowhere?! Maybe I should just leave!"

Several seconds of silence went by. Aerith narrowed her eyes in annoyance, and with a huff, she moved to stand. Just as she started, though, a hand came down on her shoulder, gently pushing her back onto her knees. She turned around to see her mother.

"Sorry to keep you waiting so long, sweetheart." Ifalna smiled down at her, squeezing her shoulder lightly before letting go.

Aerith smiled back, though it was a little strained. "It's fine. I only need to save the world, but take your time."

Ifalna laughed, kissed her hair and walked around her to kneel down in front of Aerith. "Again, I'm sorry. I was helping your friends along."

"Cloud and the others? How?"

"They were scattered all over looking for you, so I gave them a gentle nudge in the right direction."

"Why? I can handle myself, you know."

Ifalna shook her head. "I know that. But you should know that Sephiroth can't be taken down easily. I'm worried about you."

Aerith was silent for a moment, staring at her mother. Then she nodded. "Right. Well, can you tell me how to use my materia now?"

"Oh, right." Ifalna took Aerith's hands in her own. "The White Materia is a bit different from other types. I'm sure you already know, but only a Cetra can use it. Plus, the spell takes quite a while to charge, it'll take almost all of your energy to use it."

"Okay, anything else before you tell me how to activate it?"

Another shake of the head was all Aerith got before Ifalna's hands began to glow. Then Aerith's lit up as well, the light spreading to the rest of her body. All at once, a million voices filled her head. The voices of the Ancients and the Planet. It would've driven anyone else to madness, but Aerith simply closed her eyes, concentrating all of her energy into the materia in her ribbon. Holy began to glow, and the altar soon lit up as well, filling the cavern with light.

She must've sat there for ages, listening to the voices in her head. Ifalna had faded away, rejoining the Lifestream early on into her prayer. Aerith barely registered the sound with all the voices in her head, but she could make out footsteps coming down the stairs. She didn't dare open her eyes to see who it was, the risk of having to restart the exhausting spell too great. Though not too long after the footsteps were heard, Aerith became aware of a shadow looming over her. She heard Tifa and Barret shout something, followed by Cloud muttering something as he took a few steps away from her.

Suddenly, all the voices in Aerith's head began to scream, to shout, warning her of something. With all of them speaking at once, she couldn't make their words out, but her body felt cold. She was too exhausted to move, casting the spell was too taxing, and now her head felt like it was being split in two. Her brows furrowed, and she fought back the urge to shake her head. Then a new voice spoke up, silencing the others.

_**I found you.** _

That was the last thing Aerith heard before she was struck by an excruciating pain. She gasped, her eyes flying open. Cloud was standing a few feet in front of her, his own eyes wide with shock as he stood there, frozen. Tifa and Barret were over on the floor near the pillars, the two staring open mouthed at what had just happened. Then Aerith looked down at herself, and saw Sephiroth's sword sticking out of her. Shock took over, and Aerith slumped over, eyes slipping shut as Sephiroth tore his blade out of her. She hit the floor hard, and Aerith was only vaguely aware of the White Materia falling from her ponytail and bouncing off of the altar, onto one of the pillars, and into the water.

**Author's Note:**

> I haven't really seen a lot of people write or talk about how Aerith's side of things went when she ran off. So, I wrote about my take on it, as well as how summoning Holy went. Hope you enjoyed!


End file.
